Improved ore-amalgamator



J. M. BEATH.

Ore .Amalgamaton No. 45,468'l Patented Dec 20, 1864.

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AM. PHOTIFLVHD. C0. N.Y. (DSBDRNE'S PRDBESS.)

UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. BEATII, OF SAINT FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA...

IMPROVED ORE- AMALGAMATOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,4653, dated December20, 1864.

T0 LU whom may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. IEEATH, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, and of the State of California, have invented a new andImproved Amalgamator for Working Gold and Silver Orcs, and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in placing in a suitable receptaclefor holding the diluted ore or pulp ahorizontal cylinder having itsbearings fixed stationary in the sides of the tank which contains it andvits periphery covered with hard-iron shoes firmly fastened to the innershell of my cylinder, the central portion and ends of which I leave openfor the admission of the pulp, so that when my cylinder is put in motionthe centrifugal force generatcd by its revolutions will cause the pulpin which it is immersed to be thrown out through openings in itsperiphery, and thus brought between the convex surface of my cylinderand any convenient or suitable number of dies, which I arrange on itscircumference, and distributed so as to leave open spaces between them,and also room for the free circulation of the pulp in the tank aroundboth cylinder and dies, thereby securing a constant circulatiomrapid andeven grinding, and amalgamation with the quicksilver, which, by itssuperior gravity', occupies the concave bottom of my tank beneath mycylinder.

'lo enable others skilled in the art to which my invention belongs tomake and use it, I will proceed to describe its construction andoperation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan and a horizontalsection of a portion of my cylinder. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of mytank and a side view of my cylinder and dies. Fig. 3 is a verticalsection cutting my tank and cylinder at right angles.

1 usually make my tank, marked A AA in the drawings, of wood, andconstruct it substantially as represented, with concave bottom and thejoints iirmly drawn together with bolts.

I construct my cylinder by keying on the shaft b the cast-iron heads cc, setting the arms inclined (one of which is shown in sec tion inFig. 1) like the blades of a propeller,

so that the How of pulp into the cylinder will not he obstructed whenthe cylinder is in motion. To eii'ect this I set the arms righthanded inone head and left-handed in the other. In other respects the two headsare alike, each having a iiange, d d, projecting inward over theextremity of the arms, which serves as a rest for the wood staves e e,upon which the hard'iron shoes f fare mounted. 'Both shoes and stavesare firmly held to their place by a wroughtiron band over each headpassing over a lug cast on the under side of each end of the shoes. Inthe section, Fig. 1, the band is marked g g and the lug h IL. Thebearings of my cylinder-shaft are in the boxes i z', which are bolted tothe bottom timbers of my tank. The space between the boXes and the fianges j" f (which are bolted to the side of escape of pulp around theshaft. To obviate leakage and the cutting of the shaft, which is liableto occur with an ordinary stuffing-box, I use simply a cord or strand ofhemp passed around the shaft until the space is closely filled, and makefast one end at l l and pass the other down through the holes in the timbers ofthe tank and attach a weight through the levers m m, therebykeeping the packing uniformly tight and allowing it to vibrate with theshaft.

My dies are shown in section at una n, Fig. 3. I make them of hard iron,and, that they may be almost entirely worn away and easily replaced, Iset them in a back or casing of common cast-iron, fastening them bygrooves at the ends, one of which is shown in section ato, Fig. 1. rlhecasin gs of my dies are hinged in the sdes'of the tank, as shown at p p,85e., in the different views. The two dies on each side of my cylinderare connected by the curved bars r o and the required pressure appliedby the side levers, S S, the tops of the levers being pressed apart bydrawing the cross-bar t down.

In caseI wish to use more dies than I have represented, I apply thepressure to those on or near the top of my cylinder by a weight.

Operation: My tank heilig filled with pulp so as to cover the cylinder,I apply power to the drivin g-pulley w, giving my cylinder usually avelocity of twelve (12) or fifteen (15) feet per second in the directionof the arrows. The front part of my dies, lying in a line with the thetank) 1 pack with hemp to prevent the` centers on which the are hun 0 isnot iressed .y er

upon the cylinder, but the pressure uniformly increases from this pointto the heel or back part of my dies, where it is greatest. There fore,as the pulp is forced out through the curved openings between the slicesby the revolution of' my cylinder it is drawn under the dies and isgradually reduced 'as it passes to the heel, while a sufficient quantitypasses vout unobstructed between the dies to keep lbottom of' my tankwith sheet-copper, as shown in the drawings. For drawing ott' the chargeof pulp, I have holes at different points on the side; also, a hole inthe bottom, shown by the dotted .lines at Fig. 3. The holes are closedby wood plugs.

That I claim as my invention7 and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A cylinder so constructed as to take the pulp in at its ends anddischarge it through openings in its periphery, using for that purposethe cylinder above described, or any other that is substantially thesame and will have the intended effect.

2. The described method of arranging,` the dies on the periphery of thecylinder so as to produce a free circulation ot' pulp in the tank aroundthe dies and cylinder.

3. The described method of hanging the dies so that the wear andpressure increases from the front to the back part, the whole being forthe purposes set forth.

JOHN M. BEATH.

Witnesses I. M. SCOTT, W. 1i. ECKART, U. S. N.

